CRIMSON TIDE ROLLS PAST MSU, 38-0

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

ARLINGTON – In front of 82,812, #2 Alabama and #3 Michigan State were matched in the second of the day’s two semi-final FBS play-off games. It was the fourth largest attendance in Cotton Bowl history. With the #1 Clemson Tigers defeating #4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl just minutes before the start of the Cotton Bowl, one half of the championship game was already set.

Both teams remained scoreless through the first quarter. Possession time was fairly even on both sides of the ball, with MSU making 13 offensive plays for a total of 40 yards, and Alabama putting up 47 yards on 15 total offensive plays. It wasn’t until deep into the second quarter that Alabama cracked the scoreboard. With 5:36 left on the clock, Heisman trophy winner Derrick Henry carried the ball in from one yard out. Adam Griffith’s PAT made it 7-0 Alabama. Griffith kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:25 left in the opening half to increase the Tide’s lead to 10-0.Alabama increased their lead early in the third quarter with a six-yard pass from Jake Coker to Calvin Ridley to make it 17-0. A 57-yard punt return by Cyrus Jones with 3:24 left in the third lengthened the lead to 24-0. The Tide continued to score at will adding a 50-yard touchdown from Coker to Ridley again with 2:20 left on the play clock to put the Spartans in a 31-0 hole going into the final quarter of play.

There was never a spark to the Spartans as they watched Henry take in Alabama’s final touchdown from 11 yards out. The 38-0 shutout is the largest in Cotton Bowl history since the 1945 Oklahoma A&M 34-0 win over TCU. Alabama moves on to face Clemson in the Championship game in Arizona on Monday, January 11 at 8:30 pm ET.

Bears get caught in their own trap; fall to Michigan State, 42-41

ARLINGTON - Today's 79th-annual Cotton Bowl Classic marks the second time Baylor and Michigan State have ever faced each other. The last, and first time, was in East Lansing, MI on Sept. 28, 1968 with the Spartans taking a 28-10 victory over the Bears. AT&T Stadium is expecting a capacity crowd as the game was announced a sell-out on Aug. 13, 2014, over 20 weeks before actual kick-off. The Cotton Bowl has a lot to celebrate this year. It returned to it's traditional timeslot of 11:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, as well as became a member of the College Football Playoff series. This year's game marks the first time in 21 years that the Cotton Bowl has hosted two teams with such high national rankings, Baylor at No. 5 and Michigan State at No. 8. This is MSU's first trip to North Texas and marks them as only the second Big 10 team to play in this bowl game, with Ohio State being the first in 1987. Baylor has traveled to the Cotton Bowl three times, but it's been 34 years since their last trip when they played against Alabama in 1981.

The Spartans struck first with 12:27 to play in the opening quarter. Jeremy Langford took the ball in from two yards out to make it 7-0. With just under nine minutes to play, the Bears answered back with a 49-yard pass from Bryce Petty to KD Cannon to tie the game at 7-7. Both teams would put up another touchdown each to enter the second quarter tied at 14-14. The Bears dominated the scoreboard in the second, putting up a one-yard touchdown on a run by Petty, and later a 25-yard field goal by Chris Callahan to lead 24-14 at the half.

There were fireworks in the first half, but the real show came in the final minutes of the game. After spotting outscoring Michigan State 17-7 in the third quarter, the Bears watched their 41-21 lead slip away little by little in the fourth. Less than three minutes into the quarter, MSU put up seven with an eight-yard pass from Connor Cook to Josiah Price. With a little under five minutes left in regulation, the Spartans crept even closer with a one-yard carry by Jeremy Langford to make it 41-35. The Bears then took the ball back and walked down the field, but couldn't reach the end zone. On 4-15, Baylor attempted a 43-yard field goal, but it was blocked and recovered by MSU's RJ Williamson. Williamson returned the ball 36 yards, and MSU took over at the Baylor 45-yard line. The ensuing drive resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cook to Keith Mumphery. Baylor took control of the ball with 17 seconds left in regulation, and down by one. On 1-10, Petty was sacked for a loss of 6. 2-16 found Petty sacked again, this time for a loss of 7. On 3-23, Petty's pass was intercepted by Riley Bullough to secure MSU's victory.

The victory extends MSU's record to four consecutive which is currently the longest active streak in the Big 10. Head Coach Mark Dantonio, in his eighth season at MSU, also made his eighth bowl appearance, setting a school record for most bowl appearances by a head coach. The Spartans 20-point deficit rally is the second largest to be overcome in Cotton Bowl history. Notre Dame overcame a 22-point deficit to win the 1979 Cotton Bowl against Houston, 35-34.

"[The loss] is an embarrassment to me. It's an embarrassment for the fans, the players, the university, and that's on me," commented Baylor Head Coach Art Briles after the game. "You gotta play clean football. You play cleaner football, you win."

2009-2015 NCAA and High School Bowl Game Coverage

Tide Rolls Past Irish, 42-14

Photo By: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENMIAMI GARDENS, FL - The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame University came into tonight's championship game with a perfect 12-0 season. Led by All-American senior linebacker Manti Te’o and coached by third-year head coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame has claimed four victories against top 25 teams in 2012. In two separate games this season, it took O/T play to bring home the victory, and against Pittsburgh, it took three overtimes for the Irish to claim a 29-26 win. The Irish lead the nation in scoring defense, are sixth in total defense, and sit 49th in total offense. On the other side of the ball is the formidable Crimson Tide from The University of Alabama who need no introduction with 14 national titles credited to it's football program. Alabama has won more SEC games then any other school, and claimed its 23rd conference football championship against Georgia on Dec. 1 to also lead the SEC. Additionally, the school has won 4 Southern Conference titles, bringing the total to 27 conference championship wins.

By half-time, Alabama had all but secured this year's championship title and were looking forward to the next challenge. With 12:35 left to play in the opening quarter, Bama took a 7-0 lead on a 20-yard touchdown rush by Lacy. Six minutes later, the Tide doubled their lead after three-yard touchdown pass from A.J. McCarron to Williams. It was more of the same in the second quarter as Alabama continued to dominate the scoreboard. The opening play of the second resulted in a one-yard touchdown rush by Yeldon, followed by an 11-yard pass from McCarron to lacy with 39 seconds in the opening half, and the Tide took a commanding 28-0 lead into half-time. The teams traded off touchdowns in the third with Alabama scoring theirs first on a 34-yard pass from McCarron to Cooper at the 8:00 minute mark. With 4:20 left in the third, Notre Dame finally cracked the scoreboard with a two-yard rush by Golson to trail 35-7. McCarron found Cooper again in the fourth with twelve minutes to play. It was a less than valiant attempt to make a game of it, but the Irish managed to squeak out a final touchdown with a little over eight minutes left in the game. A record crowd of 80,120 were on hand at Sun Life Stadium to witness Alabama claims it's 15th national title. The title is the second straight in as many years and the 3rd in the last four years. Alabama has now scored 69 straight points against its title game opponents, going back to getting the final 13 against Texas in 2010, followed by a 21-0 shut-out victory over LSU for the 2011 crown, then scoring the first 35 points on Notre Dame tonight. Head oach Nick Saban is the first coach in the BCS era to win national titles at different schools, capturing his first at LSU during the 2003 season, and now, he's the first coach with back-to-back BCS titles. Given the youth of this Alabama team, it is predicted that they will enter the 2013 season as the heavy favorite with what has the potential to be a very intense re-match withTexas A&M at College Station on Sept. 14th.

Here Comes the Boom: Aggies dominate Sooners, 41-13

Photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN ARLINGTON -OU and A&M are no strangers on the gridiron. The Sooners and Aggies had played each other 30 times coming into today’s 77th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. OU holds a 19-11 margin with the last match-up being on November 5, 2011 in Norman. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel is the 8th Heisman Trophy winner to play in the Cotton Bowl. Only the Rose Bowl (11) and the Orange Bowl (10) have hosted more. Both head coaches were once on the same staff at OU. From 2003-2007, Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin was OU Head Coach Bob Stoops’ assistant. This is the first the teams have faced each other in a bowl game due to being in the same conference until this season, when A&M moved the SEC. Both teams came into the game on five-game winning streaks. Johnny Football didn’t waste much time getting the Aggies on the scoreboard. With 12:21 to play in the opening quarter, Manziel bobbed, weaved, and danced his way into the end for a 23-yard keeper. The Sooners with 16 plays, covered 69 yards, and answered back with a 23-yard field goal by Mike Hunnicutt with 6:38 on the clock. A&M took the 7-3 lead into the second quarter. Hunnicutt made it a one point game with a 24-yard field goal with 11:41 left to play in the opening half. It took the Sooners 18 plays to cover 87 yards and get that field goal. A little more fancy footwork by the freshman QB helped A&M extend the lead with 6:14 left on the clock. Manziel took the ball in from five yards out to make it 14-6. The Sooners would not be denied and battled back to six-yard touchdown pass from Landry Jones to Justin Brown at the 1:16 mark to trail 14-13 at the half. It was all A&M in the third quarter as the Aggie took an uncontested three touchdown lead over the Sooners. The first score came with 10:26 on the clock, a seven-yard run by Ben Malena. A little under four minutes later, Trey Williams took the ball in from 30 yards out to make it 27-13. A 33-yard pass from Manziel to Ryan Swope with 3:55 left in the third put the Aggies up 34-13. The only scoring in the fourth was credited to Manziel when he found Uzoma Nwachukwu for 34-yard touchdown pass with 9:03 left in the game. OU struggled to get down the field, but penalties and pressure on Jones, kept the Sooners out of the endzone. Manziel set an all-time FBS bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback, a record previously held by Middle Tennessee State's Dwight Dasher. He set the Cotton Bowl record for single-game rushing yards with 169. The former record, which has held up since 1971, was previously held by Texas' Eddie Phillips. Since Manziel was all about breaking records, he also broke Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell's Cotton Bowl record for total offensive yards. Graham put up 407 yards in the 2009 Cotton Bowl. "To come in and go against a Big 12 rival and do everything we wanted as a team, and send these seniors out with a win, we couldn't feel a better," said Manziel after win. This match-up brought in a packed house of 87,025, second only to the 2009 Cotton Bowl where Texas Tech and Ole Miss drew a crowd of 88,175 at the final Cotton Bowl held at the namesake stadium in Dallas.

Aggies come from behind to win Chick-Fil-A Bowl, 52-48

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENATLANTA, GA - With all eyes on "Johnny Football" in what most think will be his final collegiate football game, the Duke Blue Devils shocked many, bringing everything they had to the 2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl. A&M struggled early on drives, showing a lack of cohesion between Manziel and his receivers. The Blue Devils offense made a laughing stock out of the Aggie defense in the first quarter, marching down the field possession after possession to take a 38-17 lead into the locker room at the half.Things began to turn around in the second half though as Duke's offense started to come apart with two interceptions and a missed field goal, while on the other side of the ball, Manziel and his troops started to find their groove. The Aggies put up 35 points in the second half to come from behind for a semi-unbelievable win...had it been anyone besides "Johnny Football" at the helm, the victory would have been straight-up unreal. It was a nail-biter for sure as A&M entered the game a 14-point favorite, and their four-point margin of victory leaves a lot to be desired. Time will tell whether Manziel will don the maroon and white one more time, or take his talent, and his chances, to the pros.

Syracuse holds off Gopher rally, 21-17

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

HOUSTON – This year’s Texas Bowl pitted the 8-4 Minnesota Golden Gophers against the 6-6 Syracuse Orange. This is the fifth time the two teams have met, with the last meeting in 2012 which was won by Minnesota, 17-10. Minnesota makes the journey to Houston for the second-straight year, facing the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2012. Tech squeezed out a 34-31 win in one of the biggest offensive games in the history of the Texas Bowl. The Golden Gophers returned 16 starters and 50 lettermen from last year’s team, bringing much needed leadership and experience to their post-season journey. The Syracuse Orange gained bowl eligibility by putting up wins in three of their final five regular season games. Playing the part of the Big 12 team in this year’s bowl game, Head Coach Scott Shafer has led the Orange to back-to-back bowl games, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the ’96-’97 season. This is the second time the Orange have traveled to the Lone Star State. 53 years ago, Syracuse faced the University of Texas in the 1960 Cotton Bowl, winning 23-14 to secure the 1959 National Championship title.It was a quiet first quarter with neither side lighting up the scoreboard. In the second, Syracuse took a 7-0 lead with 10:04 left in the first half on a one-yard carry by Jerome Smith. After failing to get a pass into the end-zone, the Gophers had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Chris Hawthorne at the end of the first half to trail 7-3. The only points of the third quarter came at the hands of Syracuse’s Terrel Hunt who made it 14-3 with a five yard carry at the 2:57 mark of the third. The Minnesota offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter. Five seconds in, Mitch Leidner found Maxx Williams for a 20-yard pass to make it 14-9 after a failed two-point conversion. With 12:34 left in the game, Leidner hit Drew Wolitarsky for a 55-yard pass to give the Gophers their first lead of the night at 17-14. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to hold off the Orange. Syracuse found a hole in the Minnesota defense with 1:14 left to play, and pushed through a 12-yard on the heels of Terrel Hunt for the 21-17 win.

Ponies win the Compass Bowl, 28-6

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENBIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Saturday at Alabama's historic Legion Field, the SMU Mustangs faced the University of Pittsburg Panthers in their third bowl game in as many years, tying the school record for consecutive bowl game appearances and marking the 14th over-all post-season appearance for the Ponies. SMU's 7-5 regular season record is the third straight season the Ponies have won at least seven games. It has been a while, but SMU and Pitt have faced each other before. I the 1983 Cotton Bowl, the Ponies beat the Panthers 7-3. Before that, the two teams faced each other four times between 1938 and 1948 with the series tied at 2-2-1. Pittsburg made its second consecutive post-season trip to Birmingham as they defeated Kentucky 27-10 in the 2010 BBVA Compass Bowl. The bulk of SMU's 28 points came in the first as they completely dominated the scoreboard in the opening quarter. With 10:15 left in the first, Darius Johnson took in a 50-yard pass from J.J. McDermott to put the Ponies up 7-0. McDermott took in the second touchdown for SMU from one-yard out with 2:47 on the clock to go up 14-0. A two-yard rush by Rishaad Wimbley gave SMU a 21-0 lead going into the second quarter. Pitt trailed 21-3 at the half after a 32-yard field goal by Kevin Harper. SMU's final score of the game came in the third on a one-yard run by Wimbley to give the Ponies a 28-3 lead. Pitt managed a 34-yard field goal in the final quarter of play, but it wasn't nearly enough for a comeback. The win was a milestone for SMU Head Coach June Jones as it marked his 100th career win bringing his all-time record to 100-69. "I'm obviously pleased for our seniors to be able to go out winners. It is a special group of guys and we had our ups and downs this year but to finish it off that way, it lives with us now the whole offseason so we can just build off of that. I'm proud of all the guys, they played together. They did all the things we thought we needed to do to win. I didn't tell the guys before the game but that is my 100th win as a college coach. It does mean a lot to me because of the senior group that I will never forget those guys for that win and it meant a lot to me," Coach Jones said after the game.

A sweet ending for the Wolverines, 23-20

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - The 78th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl was the first meeting for the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies. The two teams definitely gave the 64,512 fans in attendance their money's worth by taking the game into overtime before Michigan prevailed, 23-20. Michigan's first-ever Sugar Bowl win came off the foot of Junior kicker Brendan Gibbons, a 37-yard attempt through the uprights to send the Wolverine fans partying up and down Bourbon Street the rest of the night. The Hokies scored the only points of the first quarter with a 37-yard field goal by Justin Myer to lead 3-0. They doubled their lead to 6-0 with 14:10 to play in the second after a 43-yard kick by Myer. The Wolverines answered back, and took the lead, with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Denard Robinson to Junior Hemingway. A 24-yard field goal by Brendan Gibbons as time ran out in the opening half gave Michigan a 10-6 half-time lead. The Wolverines extended their lead to 17-6 in the third after Robinson found Hemingway again, this time for an 18-yard completion. The Hokies made it a one-possession game at, 17-9, with a 36-yard field goal by Myer with 4:48 to play in the third. The momentum swung around to the Hokies side early in the fourth as they tied the game at 17 all on a one-yard run by Quarterback Logan Thomas and a two-point conversion pass from Thomas to Marcus Davis. With four minutes to play in regulation, the Wolverines regained the lead with a 39-yard field goal. The Hokies didn't give up that easily and fought back to an over-time forcing 25-yard field goal with two seconds to play in regulation. All the hopes and dreams of 23 seniors and the the group of college football players referred to as Team 132, came down to a 37-yard field goal attempt by Gibbons. When asked about his game-winning kick, Gibbons said, "It felt good to go out there. Coach Hoke and the whole Team 132 had faith in me the whole season. Coach puts us in situations, two-minute drill every Thursday practice. And it just felt good to make the kick for the team to help the seniors go out in a good way."

Red Raiders bury Gophers, 34-31

Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege #7 wins the MVP trophy

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

HOUSTON - The 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl
marks the second time the University
of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the
Texas Tech University Red Raiders have ever faced each other on the football
field. The first meeting came in 2006 at
the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona,
and it proved to be a game that went wire to wire. Halfway through the third quarter, the Red
Raiders trailed 38-7, but an offensive rally put 37 unanswered points on the
board, including the game-winning touchdown in overtime, to give Tech a 44-41
victory. The Tech comeback was the
largest in the bowl game in NCAA history.
Not to be overshadowed, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are quite familiar
with the Big 12 lineup. Minnesota
has played every school currently in the Big 12 conference with the exception
of West Virginia. The Gophers hold a 31-12-1 record against current Big 12
teams. This bowl makes three-straight
that Tech has faced an opponent from the Big 10. The Red Raiders captured a 41-31 victory
against Michigan State in the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl, and edged past
Northwestern 45-38 in the 2011 TicketCity Bowl.
Both Minnesota and Texas
Tech started their 2012 seasons off with a bang. The Golden Gophers grabbed a 4-0 start,
including a triple OT win against UNLV.
Tech won its first four as well, and six of its first seven, which
included a spectacular contest against TCU which resulted in a win in triple OT
as well. The Gophers bring in a 6-6
record against Tech’s 7-5.
The
Gophers struck first with a 41-yard field goal by Jordan Wettstein to take a
3-0 lead with 8:31 left in the first quarter. Tech immediately answered back with a 99-yard
kick-off return for a touchdown by Jakeem Grant to lead 7-3. This was the longest kickoff return in bowl
history, and first kickoff return for a touchdown in the history of the Meineke
Car Care Bowl of Texas. Minnesota running back (Lewisville (TX) High School) Roderick
Williams, Jr. helped the Gophers regain the lead with a 2-yard touchdown carry
with 5:46 left to play.
Tech answered back yet again with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Michael
Brewer to Derreck Edwards with just over four minutes on the clock, to take a
14-10 lead into the second quarter. Less
than a minute into the second quarter, Minnesota regained the lead again after a 3-yard run by Donnell
Kirkwood. A 28-yard field goal by Ryan
Bustin allowed Tech to tie the game at 17.
Tech QB Seth Doege punched a 4-yard keeper through with 5 seconds to
play in the opening half to give Tech a 24-17 lead at the half. The only scoring the third quarter came at
the hands of the Gophers who put up seven more on a 17-yard pass from Philip
Nelson to Devin Crawford-Tufts to re-tie the game at 24.Minnesota
broke the tie in the fourth with a one-yard pass from Drew Goodger to go up
31-24. With 1:10 left in the game, Eric Ward hauled in a 35-yard pass
from Seth Doege to tie the game for the third time at 31. As the clock hit 0:00, Ryan Bustin punched a
final 28-yard field goal through to win another nail biter against the Gophers. Doege went 31-45-2 for 271 yards and a
rushing touchdown. The Gophers dominated
the run game with 54 rushes for 22 yards compared to Tech’s 24 for 145
yards. Tech’s game, like it has been
since the days of former Head Coach Mike Leach, was in the air as the Red
Raiders had 284 total passing yards. "My time around these guys...super proud of them. Really excited that they got a win, and got to finish out their careers on a high note," said Texas Tech Interim Head Coach/Offensive Line Chris Thomsen on the win for the seniors.

Tigers run wild against Aggies, 41-24

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENARLINGTON – After a disappointing end to the regular season, #11 LSU was seeking some measure of redemption and respect under the lights of Cowboys Stadium Friday night in the 75th Annual Cotton Bowl Classic in front of a crowd of 83,514. Four quarters and 41 points later, they found plenty of both. The Tigers faced the #18 ranked Texas A&M Aggies who started off showing why they were worthy of such ranking. The Aggie offense made pushing up field against the Tigers’ defense look easy along with the resulting 10 points to take an early lead. As both the LSU offense and defense began to wake up, it became evident that even has the seniors were playing their last game in a LSU uniform, the next generation of Tigers was coming of age right in front of our eyes. All of the Tigers had to wait a little while before really showing what they were made of. With almost 2 minutes off the clock in the opening quarter, covered 31 yards in five plays that resulted in a six-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Uzoma Nwachukwu to put the Aggies up 7-0. Randy Bullock helped the Aggies gain a 10-0 lead with 5:03 left in the first when he hit a 39-yard field goal. The Tigers lit up the board for the first of many times at the 1:48 mark of the first as Terrence Toliver hauled in a 42-yard pass from Jordan Jefferson to put the Tigers behind 10-7. LSU scored first in the second quarter on a one-yard keeper by Jefferson with 10:13 on the clock to take the lead, 14-10. A&M answered back with a touchdown of their own. Cyrus Gray found Nwachukwu for six as the clock hit 7:44, and the Aggies went back on top, 17-14. That was the last time the Aggies would be in control of the lead. The Tigers tacked on two more touchdowns before the half. At 4:43 left in the first half, a 17-yard by Stevan Ridley put the Tigers up 21-17. Jefferson found Toliver again on a two-yard pass, with 1:27 left on the clock, to give LSU a 28-17 lead at halftime. The lone score of the third quarter was Jefferson to Toliver yet again on a 41-yard pass with 12:06 left in the quarter to make it 35-17. The Aggies managed a final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tannehill connected with Kenric McNeal on a four-yard pass with two-thirds of the fourth quarter yet to play. Kicker Josh Jasper put the finishing touches on the Tigers’ impressive win. A 50-yard field goal at 6:02 and 26-yarded through the uprights at 3:04 secured a trip to Baton Rouge for the Cotton Bowl champion trophy. As the celebration is undoubtedly still going on in the bayou, the Aggies have plenty to keep their heads held high. “When you don't finish it off like we wanted to finish it off, there's great disappointment," coach Mike Sherman said. "At the same time, when you look at the body of work that the guys put in this year collectively, the stretch run that they had, I think we'll be able to bounce back from this.” This was the 50th match-up between the two schools, but the first since the 1995 season opener. A&M had won the last five meetings. In what will turn out to be just a few short months, the Tigers will once again invade north Texas as they face BCS National Title hopefuls Oregon to open their 2011 season.

Rose Bowl PerfectionTCU tops Wisconsin to end perfect season, 21-19

Photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

PASADENA, Ca.– The first and only time, prior to today, that the TCU Horned Frogs and Wisconsin Badgers met on the gridiron, was on Sept. 26, 1970 in Madison, WI and resulted in a 14-14 tie. Who knew 40 years later, the two schools would meet once again...in the 97th Annual Rose Bowl...the Granddaddy of them All. Both TCU, at 12-0, and Wisconsin, 11-1, came into today's game scoring a total of 520 points in 12 regular season games. Today's game was the sixth time No. 3 and No. 5 have been matched up, with No. 3 winning three of five games, now four of six. This was only the second time that a Big 10 team did not play a team from the PAC-10. TCU faced unending criticism all year, and coming from a non-automatic qualifying conference only pushed the Frogs to prove all nay-sayers wrong in front of 94,118 fans. Both sides knew it would be a very physical game from start to finish. The Badgers grabbed the early momentum as they went 55 yards in eight plays resulting in a 30-yard field goal by Philip Welch to take a 3-0 lead with 10:39 left in the first quarter. The Frogs answered back with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to Bart Johnson with 6:15 left on the clock to lead 7-3. Less than three minutes later, Wisconsin reclaimed the lead on a one-yard run by John Clay. TCU battled back with Dalton taking in a touchdown from four yards out with only 36 seconds left in the opening quarter to put the Frogs up 14-10. TCU never relinquished their lead through the remaining three quarters of play. Wisconsin kept TCU quiet in the second quarter, and TCU did much of the same in return. As the clock brought the first half to an end, Welch sent a 37-yard shot through the uprights to bring the Badgers within one at the half. After a one-yard carry by Luke Shivers at the 11:56 mark of the third, TCU increased it's lead to 21-13. Wisconsin bided their time in the fourth quarter, working the clock down to two minutes remaining before scoring six points on a four-yard run by Montee Ball. Trailing by two, the Badgers decided to try for the two-point conversion, hoping to tie the game, hold the Frogs, and force an overtime. TCU had a different plan. As Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien prepared to hit his receiver, TCU linebacker Tank Carder got a hand up and batted the ball down. The Frogs then went on to cap a perfect 13-0 season with 21-19 victory in Pasadena. The Frogs and Badgers set a Rose Bowl record for the most combined points scored in the first quarter with 24. This was also the first time both teams had scored in the double digits in the first quarter as well. TCU was in possession of the ball a total of 23:25 minutes, while Wisconsin held it for 36:35 minutes. "I said coming into the ballgame we were going to have to score points and we weren't going to be able to play from behind. Wisconsin's a very good team. As a program for 13 years, we've been trying to climb the mountain. Because of the kind of kids we have, and the administration and our fans, today has been the climax of the last ten years and what we've tried to get done. Today we can say that we're the Rose Bowl Champions," said TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson.

Aggies end season on high note, despite tragedy, 33-22

HOUSTON - With the recent tragic passing of Senior Joseph Villavisencio, the Texas A&M Aggies pulled together to end their 2011 season on a high note and honor their fallen teammate, as well as they fired former Head Coach Mike Sherman. This year's Meineke Car Care Bowl victory is the first for the Aggies since they beat TCU 18-9 in the 2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl at the Astrodome. Northwestern hasn't won a bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl, though they've made nine post-season appearances since then. The Aggies cracked the scoreboard first with a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Bullock with 5:46 to play in the first quarter. Northwestern then took a 7-3 lead early in the second after a two-yard carry by Venric Mark. That was all the scoring the Aggies allowed Northwestern in the first half. A one-yard run by Ben Malena with just under eight minutes to play in the second put A&M back on top, 10-7. With 1:31 to play, Jeff Fuller caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to give the Aggies a 17-7 lead. A 40-yard field goal by Bullock as time ran out in the opening half, sent A&M to the locker room with a 20-7 lead. The Aggies continued to dominate in the third quarter scoring 10 unanswered points that began with a 19-yard carry by Malena with 10 minutes left on the clock. Four minutes later, a 47-yard Bullock field goal put the Aggies in command 30-7. The Wildcats came alive in the fourth and tried to make a game of it. With 11:15 left in the game, Kain Colter took the ball in from one yard for the Northwestern touchdown, and a two-point conversion pass from Ebert to Fields made it 30-15. Not quite six minutes later, Tim Riley caught a two-yard pass from Colter to bring the Wildcats to within eight at 30-22. The A&M defense refused to allow anymore points and Bullock tacked on an insurance field goal from 31 yards with 30 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Tannehill threw for 329 yards, went 27-40-1 and a touchdown. The win was the 14th over-all for A&M in 33 bowl games, and made a winning season for the Aggies as they finished 7-6.

Bears pull off thrilling win against Huskies, 67-56

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENSAN ANTONIO - The famous Riverwalk wasn't the only place to have fun last night in San Antonio. Only a mile or two to the east, the Washington Huskies and Baylor Bears were wowing a crowd of 65,256, many of whom were there to watch this year's Heisman Trophy winner and Baylor Quarterback, Robert Griffin III. The 67-56 Baylor victory was the highest-scoring Alamo Bowl yet played and also broke the record for the total yards of offense in a game with 1,377 yards. The previous bowl record for total points was set back in 2001 at the GMAC Bowl when Marshall and East Carolina combined for 102 total points. Oddly enough, RGIII was not the spotlight player as he passed and ran for one touchdown each. His Huskies' counterpart, Keith Price, easily outscored RGIII with four passing and three rushing TD's. The Huskies surprised some with how well of a game they played against Baylor considering they lost four of their final six regular season games, and their defense is among the worst in the nation. In keeping with their top 25 ranking, the Bears marched down the field on their opening drive and took a 7-0 lead after an 11-yard pass from RGIII to Kendall Wright with 11:14 to play in the first quarter. The Huskies evened the score with a five-yard run by Price at the 7:26 mark. A 36-yard touchdown run by Jarred Salubi and a 24-yard run by RGIII put the Bears up 21-7 at the end of the first. Four unanswered second quarter touchdowns by the Huskies stunned the dominately green and gold clad crowd. The Bears only managed a 42-yard Aaron Jones field goal as time ran out to trail 35-24 at halftime. Washington continued to dominate the scoreboard until late in the third quarter when Baylor's offense found their spark and came to life. Trailing 49-39, Terrance Ganaway stepped in for a one-yard touchdown to pull within three of Washington at 49-46 with a little over six minutes to play in the third. Another Ganaway run inside of the a minute remaining allowed the Bears to reclaim the lead at 53-49 going into the fourth quarter. The Huskies wre determined to keep up a good fight as Price's eight yard touchdown carry put Washington back in control, 56-53. The Washington defense just wasn't enough to hold Ganaway and the Bears. Four yard and 24 yard carries by the senior running back sealed the 67-56 victory for the Bears. The question that remains now is whether or not RGIII will return to Baylor for his senior season.

Ragin' Cajuns win first bowl game in 41 years, 32-30

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENNEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – The San Diego State Aztecs are playing their second consecutive bowl game for the first time in the 43 year history of the program.They finished 8-4 for the second straight season.The 2011 New Orleans Bowl is the ninth bowl game for the school and the sixth bowl game since SDSU became a Division One institution.The Aztecs are looking for the second straight bowl win after being Navy 35-14 in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl, which was the program’s first post-season victory since 1969.In spite of being ranked dead last by one national publication in the pre-season, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Mark Huspeth, finished the season at 8-4.They then made school history by accepting an invitation to pay in the New Orleans Bowl as UL-L hasn’t played in a bowl game for 41 years.This marks the school’s third ever bowl appearance with the last one coming in 1970 when they faced Tennessee State in the Grantland Rice Bowl at Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge.After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Aztecs moved the ball down the field 53 yards in 11 plays resulting in a 27-yard field goal by Abel Perez.SDSU held a 3-0 lead until under a minute to play in the opening quarter.ULL’s Blaine Gautier found Javone Dawson for an 18-yard touchdown, and claimed a 6-3 lead after Brett Baer’s PAT was blocked.After forcing a fourth down in the opening minute of the second quarter, ULL’s Darryl Surgent returned the punt 87 yards for the touchdown.Baer’s successful PAT made it 13-3.The Ragin’ Cajuns held the 10-point lead all the way to halftime.ULL extended their lead to 19-3 with a 20-yard pass from Gautier to Ladarius Green with 14:01 left to play in the third.The Aztecs answered back with a touchdown of their own with 12:54 left on the clock as Ryan Lindley connected with Colin Lockett on a 16-yard pass.Another 16-yard pass from Lindley to Lockett at the 3:40 mark made it a two-point game, 19-17, at the end of the third.The fourth quarter proved to be the pivotal one as both sides came alive as they struggling for a bowl victory.ULL struck first with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Gautier to Lawson to make it 26-17 in their favor.SDSU closed it to 26-24 with a 5-yard run by Adam Muema.A 22-yard field goal by Baer with 2:09 to go in the game put the Ragin’ Cajuns ahead 29-24.The Aztecs weren’t going down without a fight.Lindley moved the ball 69 yards in 10 plays to make it 30-29 on a 12-yard pass to Lockett.They tried for a two-point conversion, put the officials ruled that Lockett stepped out of bounds and then came back in and caught the ball.Clinging to a one-point lead, the Aztecs needed to hold ULL from getting within field goal range.Unfortunately, they were unable to do so and allowed ULL to reach the SDSU 33 yard line with four seconds left on the game clock.As time ran out, Baer put a 50-yard field goal straight through the uprights to give ULL a 32-30 win.42,841 attendees were on hand to witness the historic win for the Ragin’ Cajuns which is the largest crowd in the 11-year history of the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.This year's bowl game was also the first time a team has scored on the last play of the game.

﻿﻿Washington Surprises Nebraska in Holiday Bowl, 19-7﻿﻿

photo by: Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

SAN DIEGO, Ca.– Nearly 58,000 fans were on-hand Thursday night as the 10-4 Nebraska Cornhuskers faced the 7-6 Washington Huskies in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The Huskers were the heavy favorites, but never stood a chance against a Washington team that left it all on the field. Washington dominated the first quarter, and eventually the entire game, scoring 10 unanswered points against the Huskers. Chris Polk danced in from just three yards out to put the Huskies up 7-0 with 9:08 left in the first quarter. A 39-yard field goal by Erik Folk put Washington up 10-0 at the end of the opening quarter. Nebraska's one and only score turned out to be the only score of the second quarter. Quarterback Taylor Martinez found Kyler Reed for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:24 left in the opening half. Trailing 10-7 is the closest the Huskers came to Washington the entire game. Jake Locker added another seven points for Huskies on a 25-yard run with 13:18 left in the third quarter to increase the lead to 17-7. A team safety by Washington with 13:38 left in the game put the Huskies up 19-7, and securing a surprising bowl victory. Nebraska dropped to a 24-23 all-time record with 47 bowl game appearances. The loss put Nebraska at a 10-4 season record for the second-straight season, missing an opportunity for an 11-win season which last happened in 2001.

TEXAS routs THE NATION 36-17

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

EL PASO– There are currently six All-Star Games held in the post-season for college football seniors to show pro scouts what makes them pro football material.One of those bowls, in its fourth season, is the Pro Football Hall of Fame Texas vs. The Nation held at Sun Bowl Stadium on the campus of sunny UTEP in El Paso, Texas.The ideal set-up is for hand-picked, outstanding college football seniors who play football in Texas, or who are from Texas, play for the Texas team, and players from outside of Texas play for The Nation.Truth be told, 118 outstanding players are picked, of those, Texas players and Texas natives are put on the Texas team, everyone else is put on The Nation team, and then, if need be, players are moved around to even out the two sides.In 2007, the bowl’s debut year, the bowl game broke the attendance record for first-year all-star games with 21,548.This year’s attendance topped out at 26,041, due mostly in part to 10,000 tickets given to the soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, and thousands of other tickets given to locals.Amid the rough crowd of rowdy drunks, and the very visible police presence, an actually fairly exciting game took place on the gridiron, at least for the Texas team.The Nation came into the 2010 game with an overall record of 2-1.Even with returning Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger calling the shots, Texas Head Coach and former Dallas Cowboys great, Bill Bates and his team of coaches proved too much for The Nation.After a scoreless first quarter, Texas cracked the board first with a 20-yard field goal by Arkansas State kicker Josh Arauco to go up 3-0 with 9:54 remaining in the first half.Texas followed that score with a 35-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by UTEP’s own Cornelius Brown to take a 10-0 lead only 14 seconds later.As the game clock hit all zeros on the first half of play, Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey put a 30-yard field goal through the uprights leaving The Nation trailing 10-3 at the half.By 10:46 in the third quarter, Texas had added seven more points to their score after a 67-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux of Jacksonville State to LSU’s Trindon Holliday.The Nation scored their first of only two touchdowns of the game at the 7:39 mark of the third quarter.Quarterback Tim Hiller of Western Michigan found Massachusetts fullback Chris Zardas for a six-yard score.Texas then took control of the ball, and the game.A two-yard run by Holliday and a 20-yard interception return by Marshall’s Albert McClellan put Texas in the lead by 14, at 31-17, as The Nation was able to sneak in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Tennessee Quarterback Jonathon Crompton to Jaumorris Stewart of Southern University.The Nation had 15 minutes to make up the difference.They never got the chance.The well-rested Texas defense eagerly jumped in and held The Nation scoreless in the fourth quarter while Texas added two more scores.The first score was a 32-yard field goal by Daniel Campos, a soccer player from the Indios on loan to the Texas team for the game.With 2:46 left in the game, William and Mary defensive tackle Sean Lissemore put a safety of The Nation that completely dashed any hopes of a comeback.It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that El Paso is not on America’s top list of college/pro football cities.In fact, due in part to that observation, 2010 is the final year for the game to be in El Paso.It is the final year for the game, period.

NCAAF - Saturday, January 9, 2010- US Army All-American Bowl - West vs. East

West claims victory over East, 30-14

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

SAN ANTONIO – 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl which features the nation’s top high school football players in an East vs. West showdown.It is the highest honor a high school athlete or marching band member can receive.After falling to the East the past two years, the West was determined to walk away this year with the Boone Trophy which is awarded to the winning team of the game.Eight All-Americans were taken in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and a total of 30 All-Americans went in the 2008 NFL Draft.All-American Tim Tebow was the first underclassmen to ever win the Heisman Trophy in 2007.All-American Reggie Bush won the Heisman in 2005 as a member of the USC Trojans.This year’s crowd of 34,126 watched continuous big-air passes as both quarterbacks were not afraid to launch the ball downfield, but unfortunately, their receivers on the other end couldn’t also pull the ball in.With 3:48 left in the first quarter, the West took an early lead after a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Connor Wood (Houston, Texas) to receiver Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, Calif.).The point after by Cade Foster (Southlake, Texas) gave the West a 7-0 lead.The West added to their lead in the second quarter defensive end Josh Shirley (Fontana, Calif.) picked up the blocked field goal and returned it 77 yards for the touchdown.Foster’s point after put the West up 14-0 at halftime.After a scoreless third quarter, the West pounded in another touchdown on a five-yard run by Dillon Baxter (San Diego, Calif.) at the 11:09 mark on the clock.The East cracked the scoreboard with 8:48 left in the game on a 50-yard pass from quarterback Cole Marcoux (Bronx, New York) to received Ivan McCartney (Miramar, Florida).The ensuing field goal was blocked and returned by Ronald Powell to increase the West’s lead to 23-6.Marcoux then found Gerald Christian (West Palm Beach, Florida) on a 16-yard pass to cut the West’s lead to 23-14 after the two-point conversion pass from Marcoux to C.J. Fiedorowicz (Johnsburg, Ill.) with 7:01 left to play.With the win well in hand, the West snuck in final touchdown at the buzzer on a fumble recovery by Dominic Espinosa (Cedar Park, Texas) to claim the Boone Trophy 30-14.

Boise State takes rematch against TCU, 17-10

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

GLENDALE, Az. – In front of a sell-out crowd, 73,227, the Boise State Broncos and the TCU Horned Frogs took the field against each other for the second time in as many years in the post-season.After losing 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl last year, the 13-0 Broncos came in determined to leave Glendale 14-0 against the 12-0 Frogs.They did just, flying past a tired looking Horned Frog squad.The win puts Boise State at 2-1 against TCU as the Broncos previously defeated TCU in 2003 34-31 in the Fort Worth Bowl.TCU has attended 11 bowl games in the past 12 years, and hold an 11-13-1 all-time bowl game record, and are 5-4 in bowl with Head Coach Gary Patterson at the helm.Boise State is now 6-4 in bowl games over-all, 2-0 in the Fiesta Bowl, and 2-2 under the guidance of Head Coach Chris Peterson.The Broncos now hold the nation’s second-longest winning streak at 14.Second only to Texas which currently has 17 pending Thursday’s Championship game against Alabama.Although TCU was unable to help the Mountain West Conference go 5-0 in bowl games this season, the MWC holds the best win percentage over the last six seasons and is 18-8.Boise State got things started with a bang as Brandyn Thompson took an interception 51 yards back for a touchdown with 11:28 left to play in the first quarter.The extra point kick by Kyle Brotzman put the Broncos up 7-0.Boise State led 10-0 at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter after a 40-yard field goal.TCU quarterback Andy Dalton found Curtis Clay for a 30-yard touchdown, and Ross Evans sent the extra point kick through to leave TCU trailing 10-7 at halftime.Ross Evans tied the game in third quarter with a 29-yard field goal which happened to be the only third quarter scoring.Boise State produced the only score of the fourth quarter, and it clinched the victory for them.Doug Martin carried the ball just two yards across the line with 7:21 left to play in the game to put the Broncos up 17-10.The Horned Frogs reached the Boise State 30 yard line before Dalton was intercepted for the third time.In his opening statement at the post-game press conference, TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson said, “I thought both teams played hard.We just came up short.I think you have to give Coach Peterson and Boise State a lot of credit.[They] came in and fought and played without Austin Pettis and made the plays they needed to.”Although Dalton was visibly off his game, a 34-yard completion to Jimmy Young in the fourth quarter landed him as TCU’s all-time passing leader with 7,396 yards.The record was previously held by Max Knake at 7,370 from 1992-95.The Fiesta Bowl marked the latest either team has played in a season.When asked if the loss was a setback to TCU’s football program, Coach Patterson replied, “I don’t think it is a setback at all.We played the No. 6 team in the nation.We came into this game, two teams together, we’re 48-3.Now our total record is 49-4.We played a very good Boise State team tonight.We have a lot of young players.We are losing some good players.If you want to be a great program, not just a great team, which I think is what we have become, then we’ll regroup, we’ll move forward, and we’ll get ready to go.”

Texas Tech stands tall against Michigan State, 41-31

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

SAN ANTONIO - Amid a sea of suspensions and an infamous firing, the Michigan State Spartans and the Texas Tech Red Raiders kept their heads up and their minds focused on the reason they were in San Antonio, TX- to face each other in the 2010 Alamo Bowl Saturday evening.The outstanding leadership of both coaching staffs kept the teams finely tuned to their jobs on the field, and brought two outstanding teams to the turf.In Red Raider fashion, Raider Nation faithful filled the seats making the bowl game look like a Tech home game, quite similar to the spectacle at the Tech vs. Baylor game in November at Cowboys Stadium.Both teams played 60 hard, long minutes of football with Tech striking first at the eight minute mark of the first quarter.A three-yard touchdown run by Baron Batch was only the first in a phenomenal farewell performance for the senior running back.State’s Edwin Baker tied the game with 3:47 left in the first on a 46-yard run.A 21-yard field goal by Matt Williams, to open the second quarter, gave Tech the lead back at 10-7.Tech quarterback Taylor Potts then found Lyle Leong for a two-yard touchdown pass to increase the Red Raiders’ lead.A 48-yard touchdown pass from Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins to Keshawn Martin brought State to within three points at 17-14, but not for long as Williams nailed a 38-yard field goal with only 20 seconds left in the first half to give Tech a 20-14 lead at halftime.Michigan State turned up the heat in the third quarter with two touchdowns.The first score came on a seven-yard run by Keith Nichol to open the quarter and take the lead at 21-20.Potts then found Jacoby Franks for a 14-yard touchdown to give Tech a 27-21 advantage.The second State touchdown came at 1:18 left on the clock as Keshawn Martin took the snap and found Blair White on an eight-yard pass to leave the Red Raiders looking at a one-point deficit going into the final quarter of play.Michigan State then went up by four points after Brett Swenson sent a 44-yard field goal through the uprights with 8:05 left in the game.After taking a hit that left him with temporary partial vision, Taylor Potts left the game and was replaced by Steven Sheffield at quarterback.With Sheffield at the helm, the Red Raiders put the game away.Sheffield first found Detron Lewis for an 11-yard pass to regain the lead with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter.The Red Raiders then sealed their own fate at the 2:08 mark of the fourth when Baron Batch made a 13-yard dash across the goal line.Taylor Potts set the Alamo passing yardage record with 372 yards, and tied the Bowl record for completions at 29 earning him the bowl Offensive MVP trophy.

Ole Miss picks off OK State, 21-7

photo by Ray Carlin

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

ARLINGTON – The Rebels of Ole Miss met up with the Cowboys of Oklahoma State for the inaugural Cotton Bowl at the Cowboys Stadium Saturday in front of 77,928 which is the second largest crowd in Cotton Bowl history.After defeating Texas Tech in last year’s Cotton Bowl 47-34, the Rebels were anxious for a repeat performance against the Cowboys.After a scoreless first quarter, the Rebels struck first with an 86-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Dexter McCluster at the 11:19 mark of the second period.Joshua Shene’s extra point put the Rebels up 7-0.The Cowboys’ only score of the game came in the third quarter as Wilson Youman carried the ball in from one yard out to the tie the game.Both sides held their ground through the rest of the third quarter and much of the fourth.With 4:03 to play in the game, Ole Miss struck again with a two-yard run by McCluster to take a 14-7 lead.Oklahoma State’s chances at a comeback victory were dashed when Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Trahan recovered a fumble by the Cowboys and returned it 34 yards for the touchdown.The win marks the third victory for the Rebels at the Cotton Bowl since 2004.Dexter McCluster was awarded the Sanford Trophy as the Offensive Player of the Game for the second time in as many years.“I'm extremely proud of our team. It's hard to win back-to-back bowls," said Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt. "To win the final Cotton Bowl at the old stadium and come in here and win again in this magnificent place is just awesome.”

Navy sinks Missouri in Texas Bowl, 35-13

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

HOUSTON – The Naval Academy faced off against the Big 12’s Missouri Tigers New Year’s Eve at Reliant Stadium, in Houston, TX.The Texas Bowl marked the seventh consecutive bowl game for the Navy Midshipmen.2009 yielded a very respectable football season for the Navy who went 9-4 in regular season play with wins at Notre Dame and an over-time win at home against the Air Force.The Missouri Tigers set a school record by attending the Texas Bowl as it was the school’s fifth straight bowl game appearance.It was a clash of the offenses as Navy came in ranked fourth in the nation in rushing with 40 touchdowns on the season.The Tigers averaged 132.2 yards per game on the ground and 285 yards per game in the air coming into the match-up.This was the third meeting between the two teams with the last face-off in the 1961 Orange Bowl where Missouri prevailed 21-14.The two teams first met in 1948 in Annapolis when Missouri dominated Navy 35-14.The tables were turned in the 2009 meeting when the momentum that Missouri started out with in the first half swung over to the Midshipmen in the final half of play.After Navy won the coin toss and deferring until the second half, Missouri took the ball 62 yards in only two plays on their opening drive to end in a 58-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blaine Gabbert to wide receiver Danario Alexander to put Mizzou up 7-0 early.With 2:58 left in the first quarter, Navy tied the score after a one-yard rush from quarterback Ricky Dobbs, whose outstanding game performance earned him the Texas Bowl MVP trophy.Navy took a one touchdown lead with 0:45 seconds left in the first half as Dobbs carried the ball across the line from 12 yards out.The Tigers snuck in a 31-yard field goal by Grant Ressel to trail 14-10 at the half.With a three-yard pass from Dobbs to slotback Bobby Doyle to increase Navy’s lead to 21-10 at the end of the third.Mizzou started the fourth quarter with another 31-yard field goal by Ressel, before Navy slotback Marcus Curry pounded across the line from 11 yards out to lead 28-13.The Midshipmen put the game away with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.A 10 play, 85 yard drive culminated in a one-yard touchdown rush by Dobbs to secure Navy’s Texas Bowl win and their first win over Missouri, 35-13.

Air Force Flies by Houston, 47-20

photo by Joe Duty

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

FORT WORTH – Same bowl game, same teams.Different year, different outcome.Despite a cold front and drizzling rain that made the game-time temp 48 which felt like 44, the Air Force Falcons gave the 41,414 brave fans in the stands quite a game to watch in the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth New Year’s Eve.After a 34-28 loss to the Cougars last year, the Falcons were determined not to let that happen again.Air Force put up 14 unanswered points in the first quarter which visibly stunned the Cougars.A 36-yard touchdown run by Asher Clark, who was later announced as the game MVP, put the Falcons up 7-0 with 12:38 left to play in the first quarter.Jared Tew added a six-yard touchdown to give Air Force a 14-0 lead going into the second quarter.With 14:51 to play in the second quarter, Houston lit up the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal by Matt Hogan.Air Force answered back with another Clark touchdown from 22-yards out.The Cougars, unable to get any offensive momentum or rhythm going, would have to settle for another 33-yard field goal from Hogan with 1:21 left in the first half.The Falcons added a 27-yard field goal by Erik Soderberg to lead 24-6 at the half.The Cougars started to show some team cohesiveness in the third quarter beginning with 79-yard kick-off return for a touchdown by Tyron Carrier.The celebration on the sidelines and in the stands quickly turned to disbelief and disappointment as Air Force returned the favor on the very next kick-off.Jonathan Warzeka, in grand football fashion, returned the kick 100 yards for the touchdown to put the Falcons up 31-13.Houston quarterback Case Keenum’s only touchdown of the game came with 12:46 left in the third quarter when he found Edwards for a 10-yard passing score.That was all the scoring the Falcons allowed Houston to make because effectively stopping, and silencing the Cougars in the fourth quarter with 14 more unanswered points.A one-yard run from Tim Jefferson and a 71-yard carry from Jared Tew ensured the outcome of the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl favored Air Force.When asked about what the win says about the strength of the Mountain West Conference, Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun stated, “It's another feather; a good one in the cap. We're a service academy. That's our focus.That's the mission. That's the purpose of the academy.It speaks well of the Mountain West Conference. You look over all four. You're 4-0 right now, got a chance to win a fifth one.Three of the four have been very convincing wins, and the other one was a team that wasn't favored going in, but played really, really well in the first one in New Mexico.”

Georgia rallies past Texas A&M in Indy Bowl, 44-20

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

SHREVEPORT, La. – The SEC faced the Big XII Monday afternoon in Shreveport, Louisiana as the Texas A&M Aggies and the Georgia Bulldogs took part in the 34th annual Independence Bowl, the 11th-oldest bowl in the country.Both teams struggled through the first quarter of play with A&M gaining 84 total offense yards on 19 plays, and the Bulldogs gaining 40 yards on 14 plays, and no third or fourth down conversions for either side.The second quarter drearily looking to be a repeat of the first until 2:33 left in the quarter when A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson connected with tight end Jamie McCoy for a 15 yard touchdown.Georgia quickly tied the game on the next play with an 81-yard kick return by Brandon Boykin.After reaching fourth and 12 on their next possession, A&M kicker Randy Bullock had his kick blocked and recovered by Georgia’s Vance Cuff at the Aggies’ two yard line.A two-yard rush up the middle by tailback Caleb King helped put Georgia on top 14-7.The Bulldogs took the one touchdown lead into the half after the clock, with two seconds left, was started before the Aggies were on the ball.The Aggies re-tied the game on their opening drive of the third quarter.After reaching the Georgia 14-yard line, Christine Michael carried the ball across for the touchdown.With 9:25 left in the third quarter, Georgia kicker Blair Walsh sent a 49-yard field goal through the uprights to give Georgia a 17-14 lead.Walsh’s field goal was the third longest in Independence Bowl history.Georgia then tacked on a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Cox to Tavarres King with 7:49 left in the third quarter.After Johnson’s interception by Reshad Jones in the third quarter, the A&M moral was visibly deflating rapidly.The backbreaker score came less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.Georgia drove down to the A&M two-yard line before Cox found Aron White for White’s second touchdown reception of the night to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 31-14.The reception tied White for fourth in Independence Bowl history for most touchdown receptions in a bowl game, and it also tied a Georgia school bowl record for receptions in a game.White ended the evening with Offensive MVP honors, while teammate Geno Atkins, a senior defensive tackle, was awarded the Defensive MVP award by the attending members of the press.After depending on their two thoroughbreds, Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael, over the season to get the ball down the field, the duo saw little playing time as the Aggies continued to falter against the Bulldogs.A one-yard rush up the middle by Caleb King and a five-yard carry by Shaun Chapas rounded out Georgia rallying win against the Aggies.“It is awesome to win after the year we have had.I want to thank everyone on the team, especially the young guys.You could tell that they wanted to win this fame for the seniors,” said Georgia quarterback senior Joe Cox in the post-game press conference.

Clemson holds off Kentucky in Music City Bowl, 21-13

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSEN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky Wildcats made their fourth Music City Bowl appearance, the third in the last four years, against the Tigers of Clemson University.The two teams previously faced each other in the post-season as part of the 2006 Music City Bowl where Kentucky prevailed 28-20.With the stadium so full of blue and white it looked like a Kentucky home game, the bowl got underway with the opening kick at 7:32 pm.Kentucky forced Clemson to go 4 and out, and then moved the ball down the field on their first possession to a 17-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Morgan Newton to wide receiver Chris Matthews.Lones Seiber’s point after gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.Neither team neared an end zone until 16 seconds left in the first quarter when Clemson tied the game after a 32-yard pass from freshman quarterback Kyle Parker to Jacoby Ford.Kentucky regained the lead with a 39-yard field goal by Seiber with 7:29 left in the second quarter.A one-yard carry by Clemson’s Jamie Harper gave Clemson the lead for the first time.The Tigers retired for half time with a 14-10 lead.Kentucky opened up the third quarter of play with a drive that took them down into field goal range.Lones Seiber sent a 43-yard attempt through the uprights to bring the Wildcats within one of Clemson at 14-13.Clemson’s Richard Jackson missed a chance to add three more points to Clemson’s lead after his field goal attempt was short.After recovering a Kentucky fumble, the Tigers had the right kind of field position at the Kentucky 19 yard line.Three plays later, C.J. Spiller carried the ball across from eight yards out with 10:14 left in the game to put Clemson up 21-13.Clemson held Kentucky the rest of the fourth quarter to take the champions trophy back, and the MVP trophy awarded to Senior running back C.J. Spiller, to South Carolina.

MTSU grabs first bowl win over Southern Miss, 42-32

photo by Patrick Green

JENNIFER MULHAUSENNEW ORLEANS, La. – The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders and the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles converged on The Big Easy for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Sunday night in front of a record crowd of 30, 228.The previous crowd record of 30, 197 was set during the 2008 New Orleans Bowl.MTSU came into their second bowl game in four years with a 9-3 record, while Southern Miss returned to the New Orleans Bowl for the second straight year with a 7-5 record.The Golden Eagles took home the bowl champion trophy last year with a 30-27 victory of Troy.Southern Miss took the ball 64 yards on their opening drive to take an early lead after running back Tory Harrison carried the ball in from two yards out.A failed two-point conversion run put the Golden Eagles up 6-0 with 10:42 left in the first quarter.Southern Miss extended its lead to 14-0 with 6:35 left in the first after a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Martevious Young to wide receiver DeAndre Brown.The ensuing two-point conversion pass was the first successful two-point conversion try in the history of the New Orleans Bowl.After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Middle Tennessee opened up the second quarter of play with an 11-yard pass from quarterback Dwight Dasher to wide receiver Garrett Andrews.The Blue Raiders tied the game at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter after nine-yard touchdown pass from Dasher to Shane Blissard.Reminiscent of last year’s bowl game, Southern Miss kicker Daniel Hrapmann punched a 20-yard field goal through at the end of the second quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 17-14 lead at the half.The momentum that Southern Miss had in the first half was captured by Middle Tennessee in the second half, and the Blue Raiders never gave it up.Dasher put the Blue Raiders up 21-17 with a 35-yard touchdown carry with 10:12 left in the third quarter.Hrapmann sent a 28-yard field goal through with 7:36 left in the third and the Golden Eagles trailed 21-20.After Dasher left the game with an injury, back-up quarterback Brent Burnette took over and added a seven more points with a 23-yard pass to Chris McClover as the third quarter came to an end.Southern Miss answered back with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Young to DeAndre Brown with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter.A one-yard carry by Benjamin Cunningham put the Blue Raiders up 35-26 with 3:14 left in the game.An interception by Middle Tennessee’s Danny Carmichael, and a return to the Southern Miss five yard line, set up another Blue Raiders touchdown by Dasher from one yard out.Southern Miss continued to fight to the finish as Young threw a bombshell down field to Freddie Parham for a 33-yard touchdown.An incomplete two-yard conversion pass to Leroy Banks had Southern Miss looking at a 10-point deficit at 42-32.After recovering an on-side kick, Middle Tennessee held on for the win after Dasher took a knee to end the game.The 74 points scored in the game is the most in New Orleans Bowl history with the previous high score of 71 being set two years ago by Florida Atlantic in their 44-27 win over Memphis.Dasher, who was the unanimous MVP choice by the attending media, captured a New Orleans Bowl record and a NCAA record for a quarterback after rushing for 201 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.The previous NCAA bowl record was held by Vince Young in the 2006 Rose Bowl who covered 200 yards on 19 carries.“Dwight was hurt a lot more than what he’s letting on.He showed a lot of toughness and competiveness.Dwight now joins the elite club of 2,000 yards passing, 1,000 rushing.Not many people have done that.I thought Dwight was the perfect example of what our team stands for.That if you’re hurt, if you can still walk, you’re going to go out there on the next play,” praised Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill of Dasher who left and returned to the game twice due to injuries.Southern Miss Head Coach Larry Fedora, whose team had the early momentum, gave Middle Tennessee credit for never giving up, “You have to give them credit, that’s a great football team.Dasher came in a great player and we sent him out a great player.I feel extremely bad for all the seniors because this is their last game in the black and gold jerseys and we didn’t send them out the way we should have.”

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